2017 legislative agenda · 2017. 8. 30. · 2017 legislative agenda page 3 president/ceo message...

2017 Legislative Agenda

Approved by the Board of Directors

January 10th, 2017


Table of Contents

President/CEO Message 3

Board of Directors 4-6

Development Process 7-8

Legislative Positions 8-12

Summary 13

Contact 13


President/CEO Message January 19, 2017

Dear Chamber Member:

The Greater Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce prides itself upon being a 5-star accredited

Chamber, as certified by the United States Chamber of Commerce. This is a prestigious honor

that is only received by 1 percent of Chambers of Commerce nationwide.

One of the main criteria to be an accredited Chamber of Commerce is to be involved in

Government Affairs and Political Action. This document, the Chamber’s Legislative Agenda, is

the roadmap for our political and government affairs strategy. It outlines what we believe, who

the representatives are we communicate those beliefs to, and by what methods we plan to

communicate those beliefs.

This document is approved annually by the Board of Directors to give staff the guidance they

need to advocate on your behalf with our local, state and federal officials. Please take the time

to read through the following plan to learn about the Chamber’s political plan for 2017.

Sincerely,

Jill Lederer, MBA ACE

President/CEO

Greater Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce


Board of Directors

The Board of the Directors of the Greater Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce is made up of

Chamber members, who comprise the leadership of businesses from the cities of Agoura Hills,

Thousand Oaks and Westlake Village. They are elected by the membership of the Chamber

annually to represent the interests of the entire membership.

Executive Committee

Chair

Angel Robertson

General Manager

Skyline Home Loans

Jill Lederer

President / CEO

Greater Conejo Valley Chamber of

Commerce

Chair Emeritus

Matt Midura

Associate Vice President for

Integrated Marketing and

Communications

Pepperdine University

Chair-Elect

Chris Shaver

Vice President

Shaver Automotive Group

Secretary

Lisa Shaw

V.P. Publishing & Professional

Learning

Corwin, A SAGE Company

Treasurer

Lisa Safaeinili

Executive Director,

Westminster Free Clinic

Director at Large

Dr. Chris Kimball

President California Lutheran University

Don Phillipson

CEO

WSI ePro Marketing

Frank Bellinghiere

Attorney

Law Offices of Frank Bellinghiere

Dr. Ann Bonitatibus

Superintendent Conejo Valley Unified School District


Tom Cohen

Cohen Begun & Deck, LLP

Vincent Bucci

General Manager

Hyatt Regency Westlake

Lydia Derian Luxury Brand Consultant

Kristen Davis

Sr. Manager, Corporate

Communications

Amgen Inc.

Felix Wang

General Manager Best Western Thousand Oaks Inn

Linda Donner Administrator

Kaiser Permanente

Scott Harris

President Mustang Marketing

Dr. Hannah Grossman

Chief Medical Officer Los Robles Hospital & Medical Center

Jack Lyons Director of Individual and Small Group Sales Anthem Blue Cross

Javier LaFianza

CEO Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership

Alex Mallen

Business Development PGA Tour

Joseph Morris Owner/Operator Chic-fil-A Thousand Oaks


Vijay Lala SVP Home Loan Manager Bank of America

Michelle Menzel Associate Director of Advancement Oaks Christian School

Keith Sinclair

President / CEO

Sinclair Company

Elaine Salewske Director of Sustainability Shire

Kimberly Tharpe Commerical Banking Relationship Manager Community West Bank

Candice Shehorn

Founder

Key Pointe Coaching &

Consulting, LLC

Natalie Yanez Community Development Manager Ventura County Credit Union

Aaron Spector

General Manager

The Oaks Shopping Center

Alex Lopez Senior Human Resources Officer Chatsworth Products, Inc

Kim Woods

Power Marketing Consulting

Ash Sobhe

CEO

R6S

Stephen Yeoh

President, MBA, PMP, MTC

Un1teee


Development Process

A thorough process has been established to draft and approve the Greater Conejo Valley

Chamber of Commerce 2017 Legislative Agenda.

Input from other organizations

Since the Chamber of Commerce by definition doesn’t operate in a silo, and to ensure that our

mission, where possible overlaps with the missions of our allied organizations, the Chamber of

Commerce solicits input. There are many methods used to solicit input:

Input from political science professionals (California Lutheran University, Pepperdine

University, California State University Channel Islands)

Input from local industry leaders (Valley Industry and Commerce Association, Workforce

Investment Board, United Way of Ventura County, Thousand Oaks Boulevard

Association, Ventura County Economic Development Association and Economic

Development Collaborative of Ventura County)

Input from Chamber industry leaders (United States Chamber of Commerce, California

Chamber of Commerce, Western Association of Chamber Executives, Chambers of

Commerce Alliance of Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties)

Input from Chamber Members (through survey)

Staff Development of Draft Plan

After receiving input from various stakeholders, the Chamber of Commerce staff, under the

guidance of the President/CEO and the Chamber of Commerce Chair, develop the draft

Legislative Agenda.

Approval by the Board of Directors

The Legislative Agenda is submitted to the Board of Directors for approval. This typically

happens at the first board meeting of the calendar year. The Board of Directors reviews the

Legislative Agenda, makes changes and approves the agenda.

This allows staff to communicate the position of the Chamber of Commerce to elected officials

with the backing of the entire membership.


Distribution to Chamber Members, Elected Officials and the Public

After the final approval of the Legislative Agenda, the document is sent to all of the appropriate

stakeholders including the following:

It is posted on the Chamber’s website at www.ConejoChamber.org

It is sent in the Chamber’s Weekly View email to the entire Chamber membership

It is emailed and texted directly to local, state and federal elected officials

It is sent to the local media via a press release

It is posted on the Chamber’s Social Media

http://www.conejochamber.org/


Legislative Positions

These are the legislative positions of the members of the Greater Conejo Valley Chamber of

Commerce. We will advocate in favor of these positions to promote and grow the 1,000

businesses in our membership and the tens of thousands of local residents who are employed

by our members.

Local Government

Thousand Oaks Boulevard Specific Plan

We fully supported the approval of the Thousand Oaks Boulevard Specific Plan. Since its

approval there have been no mixed used development housing units built in the area of the

specific plan. We encourage the Thousand Oaks Planning Commission and City Council to

approve using housing units available under Measure E for mixed use development in the area

of the specific plan.

Business License Fees

We oppose any increases to the cost to obtain business licenses in our local cities.

State Government

California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) We oppose use of CEQA to prevent reasonable development and oppose additional rules that increase the impact CEQA has upon future development. Climate Change We support a balanced approach to climate change; one in which government supports manufacturing while not needlessly harming the environment. Education We support developing strong local public schools that train students for the jobs of tomorrow. We do not support additional efforts to raise taxes for education at the state level, as this is more efficiently done at the local level.


Energy We support an all of the above approach to energy production: one that includes traditional forms of energy production and renewables. Health Care We oppose legislation that will increase the direct costs or indirect costs to provide healthcare for the employees of our businesses. We believe current laws providing paid sick leave to employees is adequate. Information Security We support the ability of businesses to request information about their employees, applicants for employment and customers where appropriate for use in their business. Internet/Communications Technology We support providing resources and streamlining processes to improve our internet and data infrastructure. Labor and Employment: Classifying Employees We support allowing employers to hire independent contractors in lieu of employees when appropriate to allow small businesses to grow and larger businesses to hire for specific projects. We oppose efforts by labor unions and others to increase the number of employees who cannot be downsized at a business owner’s discretion. We oppose future increases in the minimum wage that will hinder businesses ability to maintain their operations or to expand. Legal Reform We support efforts to prevent lawsuit abuse, where lawyers and activist groups sue a business and request legal fees as part of a settlement. We oppose allowing lawsuits where there is no loss or victim. We support the use of arbitration to settle legal disputes. Taxation: Tax Reform We support efforts to distribute fairly the tax burden of the State of California. We oppose the extension of the Proposition 30 temporary taxes. We oppose a sales tax on services.


Taxation: Attacks on Proposition 13 We support Proposition 13 and oppose efforts to change the law, including the split-roll property tax. Transportation We support efforts to increase financing for transportation infrastructure at both the state and local level with an emphasis on the local level. Increases to state taxes are less likely to see benefit to 101 and 23 freeways in Conejo Valley. Unemployment Insurance We support the existing unemployment insurance program and its current rate levels. We do not support efforts to increase employer rates for unemployment insurance. Workers’ Compensation

We support efforts at the state level to meaningfully reform the Workers’ Compensation

program and to reduce the already high costs to employers.

Federal Government

Health Care (Affordable Care Act) We oppose legislation that will increase the direct costs or indirect costs to provide healthcare for the employees of our businesses.

Immigration Reform

We support a comprehensive path to citizenship that will allow immigrants of all skill levels to

meet the needs of the growing American workforce. We support having programs like E-Verify

in place to ensure that employers do not knowingly hire illegal immigrants.

Regulation

We support efforts to reduce the amount of federal rules and regulations generated by federal

agencies that hinder economic development.


Trade

We support efforts to make international trade easier for both importers and exporters of

goods, including free trade agreements. We support the continued authorization of the Export-

Import Bank.


Summary

As the voice of business for the cities of Agoura Hills, Thousand Oaks and Westlake Village, the

Greater Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce intends to use both government affairs and

political action to improve the business climate of the Conejo Valley.

Our Board of Directors, elected by the 1,000 members of our Chamber of Commerce, have

approved this document to communicate the needs of our business community and have

directed staff and the membership of the Chamber of Commerce to execute this plan.

Through collaboration with our local elected officials, whom we share a wonderful partnership,

we intend to support legislation that benefits business and oppose legislation that will harm

business.

Contact

For more information about the Greater Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce Legislative

Agenda, contact Adam Haverstock, Director of Government Affairs & Tourism.

Adam Haverstock

Director of Government Affairs and Tourism

Greater Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce

805-370-0035

[email protected]

2017 legislative agenda · 2017. 8. 30. · 2017 legislative agenda page 3 president/ceo message...

Documents